April 11, 2005 --
The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors today voted to increase in-state, undergraduate tuition and fees by $580 annually, an increase lower than what had been earlier projected for the 2005-’06 academic year. Out-of-state students will pay an additional $1,400.

“Our board is acutely mindful of its accountability to the citizens of the Commonwealth for assuring that the University is both accessible and affordable,” said University Rector Gordon F. Rainey Jr. “The decision today on tuition adjustments for the coming year reflects the board's commitment to those goals.”

This fall, undergraduate Virginians will pay $7,180 in tuition and fees, an 8.8 percent increase over fall 2004. They will see their total cost of education — including tuition, fees, housing and dining — increase by 7.9 percent over the previous year.

Non-Virginians will pay 6.2 percent more in tuition and fees, for a total of $24,100. Their total bill, including dining and housing, will increase by 6.3 percent.

“We intend to remain the most efficient university in the top 25,” said Leonard W. Sandridge, U.Va.’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Our students and parents deserve it.”

In February, the board discussed an in-state tuition and fee increase of nearly 10 percent, based on five-year revenue and expenditure projections. A formal vote had been expected at the board’s March 31-April 2 meeting, but was delayed as figures were revised and final action was taken by the legislature on the budget.

“We asked our financial team to keep our charges for next year below the amounts called for in our five-year plan,” Sandridge said. “They met our challenge.”

The total package of tuition increases, including those for graduate and professional students and the summer session, plus anticipated enrollment growth, is expected to raise an additional $16.1 million in revenue. Of that, $2.9 million will be set aside for graduate and undergraduate financial aid programs, including AccessUVa, the University’s innovative, need-based undergraduate financial aid program.

“We understand the impact of our costs on students and parents,” Sandridge said, adding, “Through innovative financial aid programs and sound pricing policy, students from all economic backgrounds have access to U.Va.”

Under AccessUVa, the University commits to meet 100 percent of students’ financial need. Students whose family incomes are at or below an amount representing 200 percent of the federal poverty line — $37,700 for a family of four — will have their need met by grants; others will have their loans capped at 25 percent of the total, in-state cost of four years of education at U.Va.

Contact: Carol Wood, (434) 924-6189

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